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Ralph Towner, 1940-2026 The New York Times Obituary Ralph Towner, guitarist of unique sensibility, writer of highly original compositions, and an ECM artist for more than fifty years, has died, aged 85. Towner, who once described himself as an improvising “raconteur of the abstract” was born into a musical family in the small town of Chehalis, Washington. He started playing music at the age of 6, developing into a young multi-instrumentalist adept at trumpet, French horn and piano. He was 22 before he took up the classical guitar, heading to Vienna to study with Karl Scheit, immersing himself in transcriptions of renaissance lute music, and practicing every waking hour. Back in America, other influences asserted themselves. “In the early to mid 60s, I was strongly influenced by Brazilian music, then basically drifted away from it while retaining its wonderful fundamentals,” he recalled. “But it had a big impact on me, as a classical guitar player who was then making a living playing jazz piano! The Bill Evans Trio with Scott La Faro and Paul Motian was another enormous influence, and I tried to develop the idea of embracing the interaction of a small group on the guitar itself. So there were these three lines – Brazilian music, Evans’s conception of jazz, and the classical guitar. Over the years I kept on adapting each of these in my own way. I abstracted them and modified them until the sources were no longer recognizable, and I’d arrived almost without noticing it in an idiom of my own.” Many jazz listeners first encountered Towner on Weather Report’s 1972 album I Sing The Body Electric, where his harmonically-free 12-string guitar introduction to Wayne Shorter’s “The Moors” was a revelation. In the same period, Ralph met Manfred Eicher in New York – Dave Holland made the introductions – and the stage was set for half a century of creative collaboration at ECM and a lifelong friendship. Towner’s early recordings for the label included many outstanding albums. Among them: the studio and live solo albums Diary (recorded 1973) and Solo Concert (1979). Solstice (1974) brought Towner together with Jan Garbarek, Eberhard Weber and Jon Christensen is now regarded as a classic of modern jazz. Matchbook, 1974 duets with Gary Burton, included what Charles Mingus hailed as his favorite version of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.” Ralph loved to play with his friend and fellow guitarist John Abercrombie and their album Sargasso Sea (1976) led to many concerts on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as a follow-up, Five Years Later (the two of them also play beautifully together on Kenny Wheeler’s Deer Wan). Batik (1979), with Jack DeJohnette and Eddie Gomez, has a glistening, rippling flow, established right away by Towner’s tune “Waterwheel.” Ralph also made crucial contributions to the recordings of others, meeting the challenge of Keith Jarrett’s “Short Piece for Guitar and Strings” on In The Light (1973) and, along with the mysterious drone of the windharp, helping to establish the emotional climate of Jan Garbarek’s stark masterpiece Dis (1976). A guest appearance on Egberto Gismonti’s Sol Do Meio Dia (1977) was a welcome opportunity to meet Brazilian music head-on. Départ, a 1979 recording with the Azimuth trio of John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone also pointed toward future collaboration. Wheeler had played on Ralph’s Old Friends, New Friends earlier that year, and Winstone would return often to Towner compositions, adding her own lyrics – as on the albums Somewhere Called Home, Dance Without Answer and, most recently, 2024’s Outpost of Dreams, which includes Ralph’s “Beneath an Evening Sky." In parallel with his leader dates and his life as a touring soloist Ralph was a member of the transculturally oriented chamber group Oregon. The band’s classic line-up, with Towner, sitarist and tabla player Collin Walcott, oboist and saxophonist Paul McCandless and bassist Glenn Moore appeared on the ECM albums Trios/Solos (1972), Oregon (1983) and Crossing (1984). Towner’s 1980s albums with Oregon, like his multi-instrumental multi-tracked solo recording Blue Sun (1984) found him intermittently expanding his sonic palette with electronic keyboards, a Prophet 5 now added to the instrumentarium, with synth also bringing washes of sound to an atmospheric duo album with drummer Peter Erskine, Open Letter. Meetings with remarkable bassists – including Marc Johnson, Gary Peacock, Arild Andersen – re-emphasized the primacy of acoustic interaction on albums such as Lost and Found (with Johnson among the cast), Oracle and A Closer View (duos with Peacock), and If You Look Far Enough (Andersen’s album, prominently featuring Towner, alongside Naná Vasconcelos). By the 1990s, Ralph Towner, now married to Italian actress Mariella Lo Sardo, was living in Southern Europe, firstly in Palermo, Sicily, and subsequently in Rome. New artistic collaborations came into view including a duo with Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu (“here’s a guy who can really play melodies!” Towner cheered) on Chiaroscuro (2008), and a guitar trio with Wolfgang Muthspiel and Slava Grigoryan on Travel Guide (2012). Yet most of Ralph Towner’s later works are embodied on a series of absorbing solo albums: ANA and Anthem, recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in 1996 and 2000, followed by Time Line, from Sankt Gerold in 2005, and then My Foolish Heart and At First Light, both recorded in Lugano, in 2016 and 2022. Each of them is strongly autobiographical in character, reflecting on Towner’s singular artistic journey. The concluding At First Light rounds up some of his early influences with original compositions incorporating “trace elements of the musicians and composers that have attracted me over the years. Musicians such as George Gershwin, John Coltrane, John Dowland and Bill Evans, to name a few…” Towner once said, “It’s my contention that music unfolds to the listener as does a work of literature, only without the specific meanings of written or spoken words… An advantage of being an improvising soloist is that you are free to alter or depart from the form of a piece at any point if you sense that the ‘story’ needs a turn of events.” Listeners who experienced his solo concerts and heard his solo albums know that Ralph Towner was indeed a master storyteller. For more information on ECM, please visit: ECMRecords.com | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

It strikes me as odd that it's such a mystery, given the deep research on Coltrane's life and work.

I (too?) got a "shipping notice" (doesn't mean it has shipped).

There's a Rickey Kelly album (presumably reissue or archive tapes) forthcoming on Jazzman. I saw it on the DG "Coming Soon" page: https://www.dustygroove.com/item/242843/Rickey-Kelly:My-Kind-Of-Music

Thanks for the views. Instead of making price cuts, if anyone is interested in buying, message me a fair offer and we can talk.

Michel Portal / Martial Solal: Fast Mood. BMG France 74321693102 [France 1999]

same

Prestige PR 7291 - Sonny Rollins / Clifford Brown / Max Roach " 3 Giants !" - rec. 1963 - Engineer: Rudy Van Gelder

Liberty LPR 3380 (FSR reissue 1985) - Bob Florence Big Band " Here And Now" - rec. 1964 -

I played White Rabbit by George Benson recently and also had that reaction of "this may be a version of Sketches of Spain that actually works for me", as much as I love the conventional Sketches of Spain

This is one of my favourite post 1980 Miles Davis albums and has a special meaning to me: It´s definitly "Night Music"....I have to listen to late in the night, if I have a certain mood, a kind of "state of grace" or a semi trance.....and it´s beautiful, BEAUTIFUL !!! I heard it in late 1987 the first time. I never forget that night. A few hours before, my first son was born, I was there when he was born....and when I finally got back home....this was the first time I heard that great music and never will forget that moment. Yesterday I had a long drive thru the night, not a highway drive, it was just "drum național” thru the country and I had that wonderful feelings, that deep feeling of purest love because I got the most beautiful girl I ever saw..... and again..... that music on the USB in my car. It may be a sacrilege from the point of view of the elder generation, but I prefer this kind of "Spanish Feeling" to "Scetches of Spain", maybe it´s a question of generation, but as great as Miles´ trumpet is and as much I love the theme of Concierto de Aranjuez, nevertheless I never really could get warm with the Gil Evans sound, it sounds a bit to western classical music, to "serious" for my tastes maybe, too little emotion for my restless soul... my fault, no question, but I am more towards sounds like that, and Markus Miller did a great job on it. And Miles.....who says that his playing after his comeback was weaker, he has that great sound, pure genius !

👍

what a great frontline, you are lucky !

Well, Mosiac has starting shipping the V-Disc Big Band set. I received notification this afternoon! I really believe this going an incredible set!.

Benny Carter, A Gentleman and His Music (Concord)

January 23, 2026: Al Dimeola, Kessler Theater, Dallas Ken Peplowski Quartet, Windmills, The Colony January 24, 2026: Jackie Venson, Antone's Austin Al Dimeola, Heights Theater, Houston Ken Peplowsi Quartet, Windmills, The Colony Bnois King, The Balcony Club, Dallas January 31, 2026: Jackie Venson, Antone's, Austin Hamilton de Holanda Trio, Windmills, The Colony Jason Moran (Ellington Tribute, solo and with UT Jazz Orchestra), Bates Recital Hall, Austin February 2, 2026: Ari Hoenig Trio with Tivon Pennicott, Drink and Think, Denton February 3, 2026: Ari Hoenig Trio, Parker Jazz Club, Austin February 4, 2026: Ari Hoenig Trio with Tivon Pennicott, Doc's, Houston February 5, 2026: Ari Hoenig Trio, JazzTX, San Antonio February 7, 2026: Quamon Fowler, Scat Jazz, Fort Worth February 17, 2026: Peter Bernstein Quintet, Parker Jazz Club, Austin February 19, 2026: Bruce Saunders Quintet with Peter Bernstein, Monk's Jazz Club, Austin February 20, 2026: Shemekia Copeland and Ally Venable, Granville Arts Center, Garland February 21, 2026: Shelley Carrol, Scat Jazz, Fort Worth February 22, 2026: Branford Marsalis Quartet, Wortham Theater, Houston February 24, 2026: Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart Trio, Parker Jazz Club, Austin February 25, 2026: Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart Trio, JazzTX, San Antonio February 26, 2026: Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart Trio, Scat Jazz, Fort Worth March 5, 2026: Pat Metheny, Charline McCombs Empire Theater, San Antonio March 6, 2026: Pat Metheny, Paramount Theater, Austin Jackie Venson, Windmills, The Colony March 7, 2026: Pat Metheny Side-Eye, Wortham Theater, Houston Jackie Venson, Windmills, The Colony March 13, 2026: T.K. Blue and African Rhythms Alumni, A Tribute to Randy Weston, Walton Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas March 20, 2026: Sarah Hanahan, Monk's Jazz Club, Austin Chirag Katti (sitar), Windmills, The Colony March 21, 2026: Sunny War, Anne Harris, Sable Sisters (Kaia Kater), Buffalo Nichols, Jake Blount, Justin Robinson, Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival, Southside Preservation Hall, Fort Worth Chirag Katti (sitar), Windmills, The Colony March 22, 2026: Sarah Hanahan, Eldorado Ballroom, Houston March 26, 2026: Pat Metheny Side-Eye III, Marc Ribot, Ches Smith Clone Row, Isaiah Collier, William Hooker Quartet, Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee March 27, 2026: Chucho Valdes Royal Quartet, John Scofield Trio, Ghost Train Orchestra: The Music of Moondog, Jeff Parker Expansion Trio, Miles Okazaki Trickster, Nate Smith, Ned Rothenberg, Nik Bartsch, Sullivan Fortner Trio, Tim Berne, Thomas Fujiwara: Dream Up, Saha Gnawa, Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee March 28, 2026: Darius Jones Trio, Either/Orchestra, Incerto, Marquis Hill Blacktet, Mary Halvorson, Miles Okazaki: The Compete Monk, , Nate Smith, Nik Bartsch Ronin, Patricia Brennan Septet, Shabaka, Yasmin Williams and William Tyler, Incerto, Electrical Field of Love, Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee March 29, 2026: Brandon Woody's Upendo, Chicago Underground Duo, Dave Douglas Gifts Quartet, Either/Orchestra Plays Eithiopiques, Julian Lage Quartet, Marc Ribot, Matt Mitchell's Zealous Angles, Miles Electric Band, Nels Cline: Lovers, Openness Trio, Tom Skinner,, Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee April 1, 2026: Samara Joy, Winspear Opera House, Dallas Pat Metheny Side-Eye III, Majestic Theater, Dallas April 2, 2026: Kaia Kater, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Little Rock, Arkansas Samora Joy, Austin City Limits April 4, 2026: Samora Joy, Tobin Center, San Antonio Melissa Aldana, Bates Recital Hall, Austin April 10, 2026: Coltrane at 100 (Joe Lovano, Melissa Aldana, Ndudzo Makhathini, Matt Garrison, Jefftain Watts), Cullen Theater, Houston April 11, 2026: Rakesh Charaurasia (flute) and Amit Kavthekar (tabla), Matchbox4, Houston April 12, 2026: John Beasley's Unlimited Miles (John Beasley, Mark Turner, Sean Jones or Marquis Hill, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Williams, Terreon Gu)), Eisemann Center, Richardson April 23, 2026: Nicholas Payton featuring Butcher Brown Presents the Supreme Blue, Monty Alexander "Jamericana", Charlie Musselwhite, Kyle Roussel, Kenny Neal, Vieux Farka Toure (Mali), Nidia Gongora (Columbia); Yusa (Cuba), Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Jamil Sharif, Peter Harris Presents Firm Roots, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival April 24, 2026: Hiromi's Sonicwonder, Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra featuring Andromeda Turre, Astral Project, Parlor Greens (w/Jimmy James), Tribute to Ragtime Piano Legends feat. Terry Waldo, Tom McDermott, and David Boeddinghaus, Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials, Sevana (Jamaica), Joy Clark, Wendell Brunious, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival April 25, 2026: Mahmoud Chouki, Louis Ford, Little Freddie King, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival April 26, 2026: Ron Carter Quartet, Catherine Russell, Roger Lewis and Baritone Bliss, Love Is Supreme: A Tribute to John Coltrane feat. Derek Douget, Trevarri Huff-Boone and Ricardo Pascal, Chris Thomas King, Tuba Skinny, People Museum, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival April 30, 2026: Isaiah Collier, Steve Masakowski Family Band, Sasha Masakowsti as Trash Magnolia, Helen Gillet, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival May 1, 2026: Terence Blanchard with Ravi Coltrane; Charlie Gabriel; Victor Campbell, Stephen Walker, D.K. Harrell, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Jackie Venson, Main Street Crossing, Tombull May 2, 2026: Dianne Reeves; Uptown Jazz Orchestra; Alexey Marti, Leroy Jones, Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers feat. Dr. Michael White and Shaye Cohn, Larry McCray, Leyla McCalla, , New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival May 3, 2026: Herbie Hancock; Jason Marsalis, Trumpet Mafia featuring Keyon Harold, Jackie Venson, Lila Ike (Jamaica), Doreen's Jazz New Orleans, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival May 9, 2026: Hiromi's Sonic Wonder, Cullen Theater, Houston May 16, 2026: Chucho Valdes, Paramount Theater, Austin May 17, 2026: Lucia, Eldorado Ballroom, Houston October 10, 2026: Niladri Kumar (sitar), Stafford Center, Houston October 18, L. Shankar (violin), Selvaganesh Vinayakram, Swaminathan, Amit Kaythekar (percussion), Matchbox4, Houston

500×446 28.7 KB Duke Ellington and his Orchestra “Ellington Indigos” Columbia/Impex Records gold cd. This is music I would take to any island I was stranded on, and man does this reissue sound great–also it’s expanded to include alternates in mono.

I talked to HutchFan yesterday and he reminded me about this release. I had just interviewed David Liebman and when he learned where I lived, he invited me to hear him in Nashville. When HutchFan shared that he was playing in Duluth, just northeast of Atlanta, I decided that concert would be less hassle to attend. I have no idea what the local venue did to promote the concert, but the posters billed the group as Dave Liebman & the Expansions. The turnout was minimal, maybe `15 to 20 at most. Yet David Liebman liked the sound he heard during the soundcheck and asked the board op to record it. Then he called for the band's first ever all electric set. Most of the concert appears on CD 2 of this Whaling City Sound set. HutchFan was there as well with a friend. The applause at the end of CD 2 had to have been dubbed from another show, though our small audience did there best to give the group a loud round of applause.

This is now Sold.